“Of course. See you in a few.”
I hit end on the screen and shoved my phone back into my pocket. Tessa was still burrowed into me. I lifted her chin. “You okay?”
Tessa nodded. “So, he knows where I am now, right?”
My gut tightened, and I clenched my teeth. “Most likely. But he can’t get to you. There’s a gate to the property, an alarm system on the house, and you’re not ever going to be alone. You’re safe.”
Tessa shuddered just as a meow sounded from her feet. “I just want them to find him.”
I grunted. “Me, too.” I just hoped I got a little one-on-one time with him first. Tessa bent to pick up Trouble, but apparently, he had already had enough of being ignored and began to climb up my jeans-clad leg. “Fuck, Trouble! Your nails are sharp.” I lifted him off my leg before he drew blood.
Tessa giggled. “He loves you.”
I gave her a playful scowl. “More like he loves causing me pain.”
Tessa’s lips pressed together in a look of disapproval. “No, he doesn’t.” She nuzzled Trouble’s head, and he began to purr loudly. “You love Liam, don’t you?” she cooed. “I get it. He’s very loveable.”
“And don’t you forget it.” Gravel crunching under tires sounded from the front of the house, and I handed the cat to Tessa. “I think it’s Walker, but let me check.” I headed to the front of the house, Tessa trailing behind me, and peeked out the window to the side of the front door. I recognized the truck and breathed a sigh of relief.
Walker hopped out of his rig and jogged up the stairs. I pulled open the door. “Thanks for coming.”
He gave me a tight smile which gentled when he met Tessa’s gaze, and then he gave the kitten a little scratch on the head. “How are you holding up?”
Tessa gave Walker a somewhat-forced smile. “I’m not gonna lie, this freaks me out more than the picture and note for some reason. I guess because it means he got close to me somehow.”
My blood turned to ice. I hadn’t thought about that. Up until recently, Tessa was never more than ten or so feet from that bag. It had been her life preserver of sorts. My gaze jerked to Walker. “Do you think he has someone working for him?”
Walker’s jaw worked. “It’s possible, or he’s using a disguise of some sort.” He motioned us towards the main area of the house. “Why don’t you show me what you’ve got.”
I nodded. “It’s in the kitchen.” When we reached the counter, I pointed at the white disc.
Walker pulled a pair of gloves and an evidence bag from his back pocket. “Did either of you touch it?”
Tessa stepped forward. “I did. I was cleaning out my purse.” She blushed as she gestured to the mess. “As you can probably tell, it’s been a while. I had no idea what it was and was about to throw it away, but Liam stopped me.”
Walker nodded and picked up the disc with his glove-covered fingers. “Good catch, Liam. This looks like a tracker to me. I’ll bring it to the station first thing in the morning and see what the techs can find out, either from fingerprints or who it might be registered to.”
Tessa sagged into my side. “Thank you. I really appreciate all you’re doing, Walker.”
Walker placed the tracker in the evidence bag and then squeezed her shoulder. “Of course. Do you mind if I go through the rest of this stuff just to make sure there’s nothing else?”
“Of course, not. Do you need me here for that? I’d like to take a bath and go to bed early.”
Walker gave a jerk of his head. “You go on. I can handle this.”
I cupped Tessa’s cheek. “Do you want me to come with you?”
She shook her head. “No. You stay and keep Walker company. I’m sorry I’m bailing, I just feel like I hit a brick wall.”
I pressed my lips to her temple. “Go take a nice, hot bath and crawl into bed. I’ll be in there in a bit.” Tessa kissed my jaw and headed for the bedroom.
Walker and I watched her go. He gave my shoulder a squeeze. “You’re good for her, man.”
I blew out a harsh breath. “I’m not so sure about that. Because of me, this asshole knew where to find her.”
“Liam, she had to face this eventually. If not, she would’ve been hiding forever. And what if she got sick? She wouldn’t have gone to a doctor because she doesn’t have health insurance or a real ID. This charade wasn’t going to hold up indefinitely.”
I picked up my beer from the counter and took a swig. “I guess you’re right.”
